We spoke to the students involved in one of our most successful fundraising campaigns. Read about the impact it had on them.
Student 1: Lina
Grade: Form 6
Career Ambition: Human Rights Leader
1. What would you like to say to the Appeal donors?
Lina: Thank you! They should keep up with the same spirit. One thing they should keep in mind is that they are investing in us and in the future they will see how the students they support will change the world. St Jude’s isn’t a small thing. It’s unique and the time will come when they will see real doctors, lawyers, scientists and others who can help our country.
Student 2: Theresia
Grade: Standard 6
Career Ambition: Teacher
2. How did it feel to be on camera?
Theresia: I felt grateful because I knew that I was doing it in order for us to get more supporters for all St Jude’s students. I felt good and trust myself that I can talk in front of people without regarding who the message reaches.
3. How do you feel when you know many people want to support your school?
Theresia: I am excited because there are many more Tanzanian children who need help.
Lina: I feel very good since I know that many students who come from poor economic conditions are going to be supported. Many dreams are going to be achieved and most of all, the school is going to get more graduates who will help the school in the future. I also feel many people trust and believe in us. It encourages me to study harder so I cannot let down people who trust and believe in my abilities.
Student 3: Amani
Graduating Class: 2016
Career Ambition: Medicine
Amani graduated with the Class of 2016. A key protagonist in our alumni program, he is a driven leader who leaves a positive impression on everyone he encounters.
It is little wonder he was our Marketing team’s first choice to be one of the faces of the ‘helping hand’ campaign video. His success as a St Jude’s graduate is a heartwarming tale of fighting poverty through education.
In 2005, Amani was selected for a St Jude’s primary scholarship — he was 10 years old. Little did he know how much he would accomplish in the next 13 years!
Amani is now a university student at Africa University in Zimbabwe. He received a scholarship through St Jude’s partnership with the MasterCard Foundation and African Leadership Academy.
“I could never have dreamed of going to university before I came to St Jude’s. I was just focused on getting to secondary school. Then I realised on the day of Form 6 Graduation that my dream was coming true,” Amani said.
Theresia, Lina and Amani, as the faces of our campaign, symbolise the success of St Jude’s. We can expect great things from these young people in years to come!
I came to St Jude’s for my first enrolment test 12 years ago, and I remember it as though it were yesterday. The year was 2006. I dreamt of wearing the beautiful navy blue school uniform and visualised the excitement of stepping onto a St Jude’s school bus.
At student selection testing, we were instructed to read a story about two people named Peter and Jane. I recall nervously sharpening my pencil for a writing and mathematics test. I was determined to succeed. I remember exiting the school gates with one hand holding a letter of my acceptance and the other waving in the air as I cheered, while scanning the crowd outside for my mother, who was overjoyed. I knew I had to strive for success to maintain my academic scholarship.
Walking for the first time through St Jude’s school gates as one of the students, I knew from that point my life had changed. The school buildings stood as tall as my dreams.
At St Jude’s, I completed five years of primary school instead of seven because of my good academic performance. My teachers had enough faith in my abilities that they promoted me from Standard 2 to Standard 3 in 2007, and in 2009, I was promoted from Standard 5 to Standard 6. I graduated from primary school in 2010, much earlier than my fellow students that I was enrolled in with. This process validated my abilities and helped me to become resilient.
An unforgettable experience was when I had to write a letter to my sponsor to introduce myself. I was so young, not so fluent in English, but I wrote from the heart as well as possible. I explained my love for biology and my aspiration of putting a smile on people’s face as a medical professional one day. I added to my text with a drawing of a bicycle.
I couldn’t believe it when my sponsor wrote back! I was so excited to learn he was a doctor too. He was a unique inspiration for me to fight poverty through education. He nourished my dreams and motivated me by giving me the chance to receive a free, high quality formal schooling.
I passed Standard 7 and continued into secondary school at St Jude’s in 2011. School became tougher that year, and so did I.
I spent my free time reading novels and drawing cartoons. Reading improved my writing, speaking and conversational skills. We had access to so many resources that government school students do not have.
It was in 2017, the year I graduated from St Jude’s, when I developed a keen interest in joining the Beyond St Jude’s program as a way to give back through the Community Service Year.
I was lucky enough to be accepted, and after completing three months of national service, a mandatory requirement for some Form 6 graduates in Tanzania, I commenced my Community Service Year as an interning chemistry teacher in an underprivileged government school.
I had two goals; creating self-awareness among the students and doing my best to help them succeed academically.
Halfway through my government school internship, I decided to try professional development of a different kind and joined St Jude’s Marketing team as an intern. This gave me a glimpse of the broader St Jude’s community. I know so much more about the efforts people make to financially support St Jude’s, and I also know more about how we influence change through education.
During this time, the Beyond St Jude’s staff empowered me every day. I applied for a number of scholarships and was accepted into the Mastercard Foundation-African Leadership Academy Scholars program. This month, I will commence my studies at the American University of Beirut in Radiology, fulfilling my dream of making a difference to people’s lives as a health professional.
St Jude’s has given me an invaluable reward: my education, for which I am forever grateful. This school is more than a school. It is a family that I am proud to be a member of.
Would you like to support a member of the St Jude’s family? Sponsor a young leader today!
Is anything sustainable in this impermanent world in which we live? Yes. Growing our hinterland of thinking is the one key element to success in life. I am not talking about material success. I am referring to success as living with contentment and love and laughter and enjoying what we do and who we are. I want St Jude’s to deliver dreamers. Our world needs dreamers. And dreamers are not only the ones who want to break the ties that bind them to their physical reality, but they are the people who can imagine another space, or time, or way of being.
The modern world, so intent on describing everything and measuring it in minuscule terms, I think has gone horribly askew! We need to shift our thinking away from using check boxes and trite statements. We need to shift our gaze to the hearts and minds of those whom we seek to educate. We have to recognise that sustainability, itself, a big, but somewhat non-descript word, must not cloud our awareness. I want our children to understand themselves and become habitual imaginers, able to create a reality out of precious little. It will be in their understanding of themselves and the lives they create for themselves, that we will find the true, sustained, impact of our work here.
Since coming to St Jude’s from South Africa three months ago, I am convinced that our measure of sustainability will be best seen if our children at St Jude’s become avid readers. Readers of novels, fiction! If we can expose small children to make-believe, fantasy and fiction, we give them the opportunity to construct something in their minds out of words on a page. Holding a book, even when my arthritic hands get sore, is still a reminder, especially when the book is wonderful, of the gravitas of a good book. I have just finished reading a wonderful biography of a movie director. I have never seen any of his films, but I feel now that I know him and in fact, feel that I have seen his movies. All of this, from reading his words.
The modern world thinks that sustainability must be measured, but the crucial indicator of success will be visible in those of our students who not only read, but who love to read. Reading for the pure pleasure of it, will be a true test of St Jude’s impact and sustainability. If one has to use the infamous checklist, then it should have one statement: “The children who went through St Jude’s love to read.” Nothing more and nothing less.
If education is to lift our children out of poverty, it means they need to imagine another world. How can they imagine another world, another feeling that they do not know, if they do not build their imagination? How can they build their imagination? By reading! It is so very simple. It sounds a bit like a cliché, but it is most certainly so that readers become leaders. And, any really good leader, is almost certainly going to be an avid reader.
It is something of a litmus test. We have seen this time and time again. Reading deposes despair, nurtures grace and strengthens our souls. I want our kids to value their silent space, even amidst the loud chatter and noise of the market and the spaza shop. I want them to put reading before movies. I want them to seek out books to read. I will live with their reading kindles. But I will be overjoyed if they read books.
I want St Jude’s descendants to feel that warm glow of having a book and a space, even if it is on a cramped bus seat, that is wholly theirs, and into which they can escape.
If our St Jude’s students are avid readers, we will have succeeded in putting into Arusha, a sustainable life-giving force. Somebody once said that we read to know we are not alone. We will not only all be alone and very lonely, but we will rapidly lose our humanity, if we do not hold tight onto the reading thread, fragile though it may be.
Take a look at our book wish list - give today to help us broaden students' imaginations!
Amani started at St Jude’s in 2005 when he was 10 years old. Throughout his schooling, he was well-respected by staff and students alike, and although he graduated from Form 6 in 2016, and moved to Zimbabwe for university last year, he has continued to inspire his classmates and younger students.
Amani is a shining example of how St Jude’s academic scholarships change lives.
Raised in a local orphanage, Amani grew up with many other children and thought, for a while, he might like to become a teacher because he enjoyed passing on skills and techniques he learnt from excellent staff at St Jude’s.
“The teachers at St Jude’s did more for us than most teacher’s in Tanzania. Learning well requires more than just having a book and resources, you also need strategies,” Amani reflected.
As Amani grew, he found his niche in science and mathematics subjects and has decided he would best contribute to society by becoming a medical practitioner in Tanzania.
“Tanzania requires excellence in the medical field and this way I will help people in great need. My dream is to open my own medical laboratory and create employment for people.”
Amani is well on his way to achieving the dream. He graduated from secondary school and earned a scholarship through the School’s partnership with the MasterCard Foundations Scholars at African Leadership Academy, which has enabled him to study a Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science at Africa University in Zimbabwe.
Prior to beginning his university course, Amani participated in Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Year as an intern in our Beyond St Jude’s team. This valuable experience empowered him to demonstrate independence and work ethic.
“University is different from school, but St Jude’s made me feel prepared. They taught us always to be humble, but proud and because of that, I am so proud of who I have become. I am lucky to have many friends and they encouraged me to apply for university student elections, but I want to focus on my studies and just lead by my own example,” Amani said.
With wisdom beyond his 23 years, Amani is eager to use his knowledge to help others in need. In his summer break, Amani has returned to Tanzania to complete a Community Action Project for his university scholarship and is voluntarily teaching academic techniques, like those he learnt at St Jude’s, to children living in Arusha’s orphanages.
“We must respect everybody, whether they are older than us or not. People are equal and these children are my younger brothers and sisters. I would like to teach these children self-discipline so they can work hard and reach success, and be proud of themselves too. St Jude’s taught me that. I am so happy when I teach them because we all learn from each other,” he shared.
Amani recalls his Form 6 Graduation ceremony whenever he is looking to find inspiration and motivation.
“I could never have dreamed of going to university before I came to St Jude’s. I was just focused on getting to secondary school. Then I realised on the day of Form 6 Graduation that my dream was coming true."
“I felt so happy on Graduation Day. My sponsors came to the ceremony with my uncle. I felt like I had gone from having no parents, to having many! My sponsors were so familiar to me. They always wrote to me and gave me words of encouragement. I felt complete when I met them,” he smiled.
“I remember I was interviewed one day at school, and I said I wanted to grow up and be a good citizen and be able to financially support myself so I could give back. That is the big dream still.”
Amani’s almost there. In just a few years, he will graduate into a profession that will potentially see him helping thousands of Tanzanians. Supporters from around the world, who take our students hands, help them rise to meet their goals.
Give us your hand and sponsor an academic scholarship for the next young Amani!
Amanda signed up to sponsor an academic scholarship with St Jude’s in 2009. Almost a decade later, she and her mother, Jenny, made the long journey from Australia to Tanzania to support Form 6 graduate, Dainess, on Graduation Day last month.
Amanda and Jenny have been so impressed by St Jude’s sponsorship scheme, and excited by Graduation Week, that they decided to sponsor another student together, Glory, who is currently in Form 3 at Smith Secondary Campus.
“I have always believed in the adage that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
“Gemma’s story really resonated with me because I come from a teaching background. I was, and still am, a firm believer in the power of education to transform lives. The joy of making a difference to a stranger halfway around the world, and the great expectation and desire to one day meet them in person… it’s been a goal many years in the making,” Amanda said.
“Mum always used to say, ‘you have no control over which house you are born into.’ As a baby, no one chooses their family’s economic situation, so I think it is especially important to sponsor the most disadvantaged children, as is the St Jude’s path,” she said.
“The best part of being a sponsor with St Jude’s is writing to and receiving letters from your sponsor student. Dainess said she hoped and prayed I would come to visit her. To cry and laugh and smile with her, and finally meet the student’s family with whom you share a common bond, is life changing.”
Amanda and Jenny’s visit took a heartwarming turn on their final day at St Jude’s, when they had the impromptu opportunity to surprise their newly sponsored student, Glory, at one of her football matches.
“It was such a special encounter. Mum in particular was affected, knowing this may be the only opportunity she’ll have to meet Glory, since she may not be able to travel back in three years for her Form 6 graduation,” Amanda said.
Having started Dainess on the path to a bright future nine years ago, Amanda is now settled back with her family in Queensland after a whirlwind visit, but her journey with St Jude’s is far from over.
“Some of my friends who read all my happy social media posts about St Jude’s and Graduation Day were also moved and wanted to know how to sponsor. So, I have suggested we co-sponsor some female students next year and make it our goal to travel over for their Form 6 graduation,” she excitedly shared.
“That’s the thing about St Jude’s. Once you start sponsoring, and especially when you visit, it gets under your skin and weaves its way into your heart.”
Weave a thread in St Jude’s rich tapestry and join thousands of international sponsors and donors, who make it possible for 1,800 students to break the cycle of poverty. Our Annual Appeal runs until June 30 - donate or sponsor before then to have your contribution matched!
Sebastian earned his academic scholarship to St Jude’s at the end of 2013 and started in Preparatory class at Sisia Primary Campus the following year, eager to learn and participate. In four years, he has gone from strength to strength, thanks to his Australian sponsors, and many generous donors who go the extra mile to support students with additional needs, through St Jude’s Medical and Welfare Fund.
Sebastian, 11 years old, was born with albinism and nystagmus, an associated eye condition that impairs Sebastian’s ability to see or read as easily as his classmates.
However, the exceptional young student refuses to be diminished by his medical conditions. In fact, he is one of St Jude’s best-performing students in Standard 4, regularly achieving all A and B grades in each of his nine subjects.
Currently, the nation does not have sufficient resources to support all children like Sebastian.
There is one doctor per approximately 32,500 people in Tanzania, according to Global Health Action. It is estimated that one Tanzanian child out of 1,400 births will be born with albinism.
Although the odds were once stacked against Sebastian, his gift of a high quality education at St Jude’s means he is leaping towards a successful future.
People with albinism are at risk of stigmatisation, cruelty and violence in Tanzania due to cultural and spiritual beliefs that their hair, skin and body parts contain magical powers, or that they are ghosts of European colonists.
At St Jude’s, Sebastian is kept safe from potential harm and his peers are educated and supportive of him.
“My best friend is Joshua in my class. We enjoy playing at lunch time and telling jokes on the school bus. Sometimes I am even able to help him if he needs extra help with school work!” Sebastian shared.
St Jude’s Community Relations Manager, Charlotte, oversees the welfare of all students across our primary and secondary campuses. Each day, she communicates with Sebastian to ensure he is content and healthy.
“If Sebastian were in Australia, I believe he would be considered legally blind, because he cannot see the blackboard even if he sits at the front of the class. To address this issue, the Rotary Club of Brisbane High Rise donated an iPad to the School, after they met Sebastian during a 2015 visit to the School from members of this Rotary club,” Charlotte explained.
“In 2014 when I started Standard 1, I did not have an iPad and it was hard to learn. With my iPad, I can just take a photograph of the blackboard and zoom in as much as I need to, which makes it much easier,” Sebastian added.
“Every day in the afternoon, Sebastian drops off his iPad to St Jude’s Business Office to be recharged overnight. He collects it from the office in the morning before school. This works well because we can ask him how he is doing and we can help him to clean his eyeglasses.”
“Our Medical and Welfare fund helps us to pay for students like Sebastian to receive glasses. Every year, we take him for eye testing in case his prescription has changed and we can get him a new pair,” Charlotte said.
Beyond providing visual aids and classroom support for Sebastian, he also receives additional care during annual Medical Checks every March.
Three of Sebastian’s sponsors are medical professionals, two of whom lead St Jude’s annual Medical Check team.
“I loved seeing Doctor Pip and Doctor Craig in March. They brought me my favourite book. It is called My Secret Book of Rules. I really love it!” Sebastian said.
Given Sebastian’s admiration for all his sponsors and ongoing support from compassionate medical professionals in Tanzania, his dream job comes as no surprise.
“I want to become a doctor when I grow up. I dream to help a lot of people,” Sebastian said.
Sebastian will be able to help many people in the future, and it is thanks to donors and supporters from around the world. Donate today to St Jude’s Medical and Welfare Fund to give our most vulnerable students some additional care.
